What to watch for: USC

Coming off of a loss -- its second in three games -- and with two players potentially not in the lineup, Bruins forward David Wear said on Tuesday that Wednesday's rivalry matchup with USC was a "must-win".

Against an 8-13 team, that should probably be assumed. But given the vexing up-and-down nature of this Bruins squad, nothing should be a surprise at this point. And if Shabazz Muhammad misses the game with the flu, well, then anything could be possible on Wednesday.

Here are three things to watch for Wednesday night:

1. Will Shabazz Muhammad play? And if he does, how effective will he be?

Could this be Muhammad's "Flu Game"? His teammates made it clear on Tuesday that they expect him to play -- even if he's still feeling under the weather. That could set up a pretty dramatic performance for UCLA's leading scorer -- a moment that could mark Muhammad in UCLA lore for a long time. Then again, it's a lot harder to play with the flu than it is without, and Muhammad isn't exactly Michael Jordan, so expecting his usual 18 points per game in those conditions might be asking too much. We know very little about whether Muhammad will play today, other than what his coach and teammates have told us, but I'd expect him to play -- and to struggle if he does.

2. How much will USC's size play a part in Wednesday's result?

The Trojans have the biggest rotation of any team in the Pac-12, and given the success Arizona State had against UCLA last Saturday, there's reason to believe that the Bruins could struggle down low against USC's two 7-footers, Dewayne Dedmon and Omar Oraby. It'll help if Travis Wear plays -- it seems like he will -- but he'll have to make shots if he does play, forcing USC to spread out the middle of the paint. Wear might actually be the key player here, as his absence was definitely felt against Arizona State with Sun Devils 7-2 center Jordan Bachynski just plopping down in the middle of the paint. Expect UCLA's offense to be a little more patient and not to settle for bad shots, and if its athleticism can overpower USC's post attack early, then this might not be much of a problem. But if UCLA gets outrebounded by 20 again, the Trojans might actually pull off the upset.

3. Is USC better than it gets credit for?

Looking past the Trojans' Saturday blowout loss to Arizona, USC hasn't lost a game by more than eight points since the new year began. In the past two weeks, the Trojans took Arizona State to overtime and lost to Oregon on the last possession of the game. Since former coach Kevin O'Neill was chased out of town and replaced by Bob Cantu, USC has undoubtedly looked like a different team with a fresh, new spark. A rivalry game could be the Trojans' best chance to show to the rest of the conference that they're a new team, and that's why UCLA can't afford to look past their crosstown neighbors. UCLA is still the overwhelming favorite, but with the rotation looking so shallow, an upset wouldn't be completely out of the realm of possibility.

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